


Count Your Blessings

by TheSkyrimLife



Category: Mary Poppins (Movies), Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Genre: Gen, Trans Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 08:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSkyrimLife/pseuds/TheSkyrimLife
Summary: Jack is taking John home on his bike after playing a game of cards, and the younger starts asking questions about Jack's father.





	Count Your Blessings

Jack was as happy as a man could be. He was up on the roof of his small flat playing cards with a young boy named John Banks, whom he adored. The small smile on his face as he drew a king just made his heart take a leap. He was so happy to be a sort of role model to the child.

After much tension, John slammed down a queen and jumped up with a howl. “Careful, lad,” Jack laughed. “People are tryin’ to get some shut eye around here.”

“I don’t care! I’m just doing my victory kick-and-prance!” He did a sort of thing that you would see a tap dancer do and Jack couldn’t help but chuckle at it.

After he was done with his performance, Jack stood up and gathered his things. “Well, it’s close to nine o’ clock, your father should want you home now.”

John scooped up his deck of cards and slid them into the back pocket of his trousers. “That’s a good idea.”

They trudged down the fire escape, happily whistling a tune that they were all too familiar with.  _Oh, the cover is not the book, so open it up and_ _take a look_ _,_  Jack thought.

While they rode through the night, both of them were thinking of how much they missed Mary. She was strict, sure, but quick to spark a thirst for adventure in their hearts.

“Do you have a father, Jack?”

The driver turned around. “Pardon?”

John was fidgeting with his hands. “I asked if you had a father.”

“Yes, I do have a father,” Jack remarked quietly. “His name is Dan. We don’t talk much.”

“Why don’t you speak anymore?”

_Damn,_  Jack thought.  _You sure are a pestering little bugger._ “I was a man and he didn’t like that.”  _And here_ _comes the dysphoria. Good job._  He knew what was coming. That question they all asked. He hated his big mouth.

“What does that mean?”

He wasn’t really in the mood for this right now, considering he was “On it” and that meant he was grumpy and quicker to anger. “I’ll tell you later. The main reason was because I wanted to be a singer.”

John was still firing them off. “What’s wrong with being a singer?”

Mentally shrugging at the remark, Jack tried to explain his father.

“My dad was raised in a little town called St. Ives, and he grew up around many farmers and pastors. Since he went to church so much, and had a large amount of faith in God, he decided to become a pastor and move all the way to London. He wanted me to be one too.” Alright, not exactly true, he wanted him to be a church girl, but hey, he hasn’t had the chance to tell John about that stuff yet.

“I hated the idea of that, and I’d start sneaking out and doing bad things. One day, after I got beat up by some bullies, Bert found me and took me in. Let me be who I wanted. I never saw my old man again. Or my mum.

“Mum was sweet. Gentle. Called me by my real name. But she loved Dad too much.”

For a while there was silence. Just the sound of pedals creaking and the occasional thump of wheels landing from riding off a curb. John seemed to be humming now, looking up at the stars. It took a while for Jack to recognize the tune, but once he did, he realized it was the one he sang every morning and every night. While he was dimming the lamps and while he was lighting them.

_So count your blessings_    
 _You're a lucky guy_    
 _For_ _you're_ _underneath the lovely London sky_

“Jack?”

Once more, he turned around. “Yes?”

John was mesmerized by the sparkles from above illuminating the streets. “The London sky saved you, didn’t it?”

Jack smiled. “Yes, I suppose it did.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> I simply love this film. It's definitely the best of the year, and if it doesn't win at least one Oscar, I will protest.  
> However, when I looked on AO3, there was no fanfiction. Zero. Zit. Nada. I didn't like that, and so I started writing. I have one other fic, you can check it out on my profile, along with three Fallout 4 ones and an original work. However, if you don't want to do that, hey man, that's cool. I get it. You've got other things to do, or you just don't feel like it. But whatever choice you make, have a great day!


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